On day 8 of our 9D8N Jiuzhaigou / Huang Long / Chengdu travels, it was a free-and-easy day in Chengdu! There were foods that we wanted to try, especially since many of the restaurants had dialled down and accommodated to our Singaporean palates during the trip. Going local today was the idea. As it was a free-and-easy day, we also started our day a little later, waking up at 8am for our breakfast buffet at Xin Liang Hotel Chengdu (新良大酒店）this morning…
Breakfast buffet at Xin Liang Hotel Chengdu (新良大酒店）
There was already a small crowd when we arrived at 830am. As with local China hotels, the breakfast buffet catered mainly to local Chinese guests. Hence, the food variety was mainly local with stir fried items, cold dishes in local style, soyabean milk and noodles. To be honest, there wasn’t anything that we really enjoyed here – though noodles station was not too bad to fill you up. We also found the red date yoghurt to be rather tasty as well. Yoghurt – Chinese style. 😉
Checking Out the Supermarket in Chengdu
Our day started with the search for the proverbial Carrefour located in Chengdu, based on Google Maps. The walk from Xinliang Hotel Chengdu to this said Carrefour was just 10 minutes by foot. So we were actually quite happy that there’s a supermarket nearby where we can get some souvenir shopping done. To our dismay, when we arrived, we were unable to locate the Carrefour. Upon confirmation with the locals, we found out that it was already been closed for a couple of years now. According to one of the ladies we met, the nearest would be at Tai Koo Li. So we backtracked to IFS (International Financial Square) where you’ll see a HUGE panda trying to climb a building.
Nearby, you’ll see Chun Xi MRT and Kate was sharp to observe a grocery cart sign, indicating that we’re close to a supermarket. Following the underground path for about 200 metres, we arrived at Ole Supermarket!
Although it felt like an upscale supermarket, you could get everything you need inside Ole Supermarket in Tai Koo Li. Felt like Jason’s supermarket in Singapore. Everything is well stocked, neatly arranged and you’ll probably see more international items here to meet the needs of the international community in the area. The prices were also a little higher but still not too bad for Singaporeans. Hence, we got some simple souvenir shopping done here, including beef jerky and ma hua juan (麻花捲) – fried dough twists. Although we were not members of Ole, the staff was able to get us some discount, maybe keying into a company account, granting us a couple of bucks off. Also, the toilet in this underground venue was really clean, spacious and modern as well. Probably one of the best toilets we’ve seen during this trip.
To end off our visit at Ole Supermarket, we headed over to the Ole Food Hall side of the supermarket where there are tables and seats for those who got their food. We bought a couple of craft beers – Urbrew Lychee Sea Salt Cider (11.80 RMB) and Panda Eyes Honey Ale (12.80 RMB) and after discount, came up to about 10 RMB each or about $2 SGD. While sipping on the delicious craft brew, we also noticed how the locals would take whatever dishes they fancy – like the economical rice stall in Singapore (菜饭), weigh them, pay and eat. An interesting concept this. Time saved for staff to tabulate and receive payment – enhanced efficiency.
From Tai Koo Li, we found a street nearby and using Didi (the in-built ride-hailing app in Alipay), we were on our way to Chen Mapo Tofu for some authentic Sze Chuan dishes!
The original fare on the app was 10.2 RMB but due to the heavy traffic, the eventual fare was 12.54RMB. The app explained that it was due to the waiting times and this is a marked difference as compared to the fixed fares we’d see on Grab and Uber. Good and fair for the drivers which requires some adjustment from users, especially users like us who are more familiar with Grab and the likes (i.e. Gojek, Uber).
Dining at Chen Mapo Tofu (Main) Chengdu for Authentic Sze Chuan Dishes
Chen Mapo Tofu is one of the restaurants that we wanted to try during our “free-and-easy” day because of a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is listed as a Michelin Bib Gourmand – meaning it has “good quality, good value cooking” or great food at affordable prices. Secondly, it is also a restaurant that serves up many delicious Sze Chuan dishes that we’d like to try in one swoop. Thirdly, according to legend, Mapo Tofu which translates to Tofu made by Mapo – or a grandma with pockmarks on her face, originated in Chengdu. Chen Mapo Tofu seems to be one of the oldest joint that dates to the Qing Dynasty in the mid-1800s.
Hence, upon arrival and seeing the authentic signboard at Chen Mapo Tofu Chengdu – we were excited and could not wait to put in our orders!
We were actually blessed to have arrived just before the crowds built up. After getting our queue number, we were third in line and waited for less than 10 minutes. Once we were allocated a table, we were led upstairs and while heading up, we took the photo above – the entire waiting lobby was already full at 12pm! 😱
Upstairs, another surprise awaited us. The interior decorations were so authentic, classy and intricate! You’ll be able to see decorations and furniture that brought you back to an by-gone era of yesteryears. Not only were we going to enjoy authentic Sze Chuan cuisine, it was done in style as well.
Next, it was time to analyse the menu at Chengdu Chen Mapo Tofu…
The menu is divided into 2 pages. For the uninitiated like us, it would be best to choose from the 特色菜品 “Characteristic” or Signature dishes section – yeah, “characteristic dishes” is the wrong translation but you know the section to look out for. From here, you’ll be able to find their signature dishes such as
金牌麻婆豆腐: Signature Mapo Tofu – 24RMB for less than 4 pax / 30 RMB for more than 4 pax
金牌牛肋骨: Signature Beef Short Ribs – 98 RMB
鲍鱼红烧肉: Abalone with Braised Beef – 168 RMB
旱蒸回锅肉: Twice Cooked Pork – 29 RMB
宫保鸡丁: Kung Pao Chicken – 29 RMB
锅巴肉片: Crispy Pork Slices – 36 RMB
水煮鱼: Boiled Fish – 42 RMB
As you can from some of these dishes that we’ve identified, the prices were relatively affordable. This is probably how it was able to qualify for the Michelin Bib Gourmand title. However, you can also go “luxe” with abalone, prawns which will go no more than 250 RMB, still pretty good prices overall. This time, we went with
金牌麻婆豆腐: Signature Mapo Tofu – 24RMB for less than 4 pax
口蘑雪花牛肉: Mushroom with Marbled Beef – 69 RMB
夫妻肺片: Sliced Beef and Tribe – 39 RMB
莲白粉丝: Mung Bean Vermicelli – 29 RMB
担担面: Dan Dan Noodles – 18 RMB
Rice – 2 RMB
Beer – 13 RMB
In total, the meal came up to exactly 200 RMB (inclusive of 4RMB for teas and 2RMB for wet towels) or about $40 SGD! 😱😱😱
In terms of taste, everything was EXCELLENT!
Let’s start with the Signature Mapo Tofu (金牌麻婆豆腐). The initial sensation? SPICY!!! It was essentially, too spicy and too numbing. After 2 mouthfuls, we almost gave up – coming back for only 2 more mouthfuls towards the end. However, it was really fragrant and despite it being so spicy, you’ll keep coming back for more because of the aromatic, spicy and peppery spices. Excellent with rice. But we’ve got to say that the authentic (2 Chili Sign) Sze Chuan Mapo Tofu, is REALLY TOO SPICY FOR SINGAPOREANS! In the end, we had to give up halfway, in order not to numb our tongues any further. But honest to goodness, this was an excellent dish with silky tofu and generous minced meat – no wonder it’s enjoyed by generations of Sichuanese through the years!
The Sliced Beef and Tribe (夫妻肺片) was spicy but not as much as the mapo tofu, allowing us to finish the dish. The beef had a certain bite to it but because it’s sliced so thinly, it was quite manageable. The tribe was also relatively tender – not the rubbery kind. The only thing was that it was TOO OILY. Yet, this was the authentic taste that we were looking for throughout the trip. Really good rendition overall. Yum!
As for the Dan Dan Noodles (担担面), we were pretty glad that although we were not able to see it on the menu initially, we were able to order directly with the staff when she came over to take our orders. This is because the noodles had the chewy texture that we loved – probably hand-drawn and the sauce with the spicy minced meat was simply delectable. Slurpilicious to be exact! 😋
The Mushroom with Marbled Beef (口蘑雪花牛肉) was probably the best surprise during this meal. Not only was it not spicy – a welcomed change to all the other spicy dishes, it was actually superbly prepared. The marbled beef was oh so tender! We actually didn’t expect the restaurant to be so generous in both aspects – an excellent cut of the marbly and tender beef as well as having many cubes of this tasty beef. Though it was supposed to be 150g, we thought there were certainly more. The mushrooms were also tender and because of the onions and leeks that were braised together, it naturally sweetened up the entire dish. Excellent rendition!
The Mung Bean Vermicelli (莲白粉丝) was our vegetables for this meal and had Kate’s favourite mung bean vermicelli. It was as good as we had imagined and more. The vermicelli was chewy and bouncy – exactly what we were looking for while the cabbage gave it a light crisp on each bite, giving it a different texture.
There were actually so many other dishes that we would have loved to try such as the fried pork slices, the pork belly as well as the fish options but simply didn’t have the stomach to literally, stomach any more food. Definitely a great dining venue to visit with a couple of friends. If you’re part of the Chan Brothers tour doing a free-and-easy, jio a couple of tour group mates and order more dishes to share. And if you do, let us know more in the comments section below!
@2bearbeartravel Visited the Chen Mapo Tofu (Main) in #Chengdu to try out some authentic dishes. This time, we had the #mapotofu (of course), #dandannoodles , #fuqifeipian , #beef stewed with mushrooms and the #vermicelli (aka #dongfen) with cabbage. ALL WERE DELICIOUS! 😋🤤 We particularly enjoyed the beef which had ultra tender beef cubes (known as #xuehuaniurou ) which is affordable (69rmb without additional taxes) and a portion size that is good for 4 to share. The Mapo tofu was very flavourful and tasty. The tofu was tender and the meat had been marinated. One of the best we’ve had. The only catch? It is both #spicy and #numbing. yes #mala in both aspects. Which can be quite tough to handle. 🥵🥵 We also enjoyed the #dandan #noodles, chewy texture with robust flavours. salivating even as we type! 🤤🤤 For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #chenmapotofu #chenmapotofuchengdu #chengdufood #chinesefood #food #foodie #sgfoodie #foodlover #foodtiktok #foodtok #2bearbear #travel #traveling #traveler ♬ som original – ELETRO SOUND REMIX 1.0
Visiting Raffles City Chengdu
The Didi ride from Chen Mapo Tofu to Raffles City Chengdu was 10.7 RMB which was still affordable despite the mini jam we experienced enroute. At Raffles City, there are 4 levels of shopping, above which are office spaces. Level 1 was where we found Chagee and found a seat to write a message on a diary we had bought for Xiao Zhu. The Chagee Tea in China, as mentioned in our previous post, is fragrant and is so much better than what we had tried in Malaysia. This time, we tried the Peach Oolong Milk Tea (16 RMB) which was delicious as well. At Level 2, we bought a 2025 diary at one of the classy souvenir shops and at the same level, we also saw 好特卖 (Hao Te Mai), a shop that sells really cheap snacks and drinks…
One thing we noticed was that the entire mall was actually quite empty – maybe except at Chagee. The mall probably served the office workers who were still at work and this worked out great for us because we had almost the entire mall to ourselves as we took our time to shop around the various shops in the mall…
To round up our visit, after spending a couple of hours, literally, to write our note in Chinese to Xiao Zhu, we treated ourselves to croissant and coffee at Wheat and Baker. This time, we ordered the Flat White, Almond Croissant and Raisin Roll which came up to 60 RMB. Unfortunately, at $11 SGD, they were not very nice and we felt that it was a little expensive as well. No crumbly croissant here – unlike what we tried in Mount Tamborine’s Franquette a couple of weeks earlier.
While strolling around, we also saw a supermarket in Raffles City Chengdu, named after a hippopotamus. Inside, there were alot of fresh seafood, including a HUGE Alaska King Crab for only 999 RMB – plus, it was still actively moving! The Didi ride back from Raffles City Chengdu back to Xinliang Hotel Chengdu was 13 RMB.
@2bearbeartravel There are 4 levels of shopping at #RafflesCity #Chengdu. Though small in comparison to #IFS, you’ll be able to do shopping, dine at some classy yet affordable restaurants and also watch a movie if you’d like. There’s also a supermarket at its basement that sells fresh seafood, including whole Alaskan King Crab for 999rmb! 🥹😱 #rafflescitychengdu #shopping #dining #movie #restaurant #daytrip #dayout #travel #traveltheworld #singapore #singaporean #travellife #traveltiktok #traveltok #traveler #traveling @rafflescitysg ♬ GOT IT GOOD (Trend) – James Johnston
Dinner at Er Ma Pub (贰麻酒馆) Chengdu
For dinner, Julian had arranged for those who wanted to have dinner together to visit Er Ma Pub (贰麻酒馆), which turned out to be a very good place to visit with live music, BBQ, beers and more…
Inside, it had the pub atmosphere with low tables where almost every table had shots going on. It was also interesting to see some of these shots in the form of tea cups and test tubes – probably to attract the younger generation. We also ordered lots of BBQ items which was yummy – though not the best chinese-style BBQ we’ve had but still decent. What we enjoyed most about Er Ma Pub (贰麻酒馆) Chengdu is the live music and singing. There were actually many different singers here. Each singer would have a set of 4 to 5 songs before the next singer came on. We saw probably 4 different sets during our stay here. Also, the conversations were pretty good as well. We learnt about a fellow Christian who had served in Sunday School for several years and our guide, Julian, who enjoy chilling at these venues. The Didi ride back from Er Ma Pub (贰麻酒馆) to Xinliang Hotel Chengdu was 13 RMB.
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@2bearbeartravel Wondering what are some of the #thingstodoinchengdu, check out this video for some ideas! For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #china #chengdu #thingstodo #travel #2bearbear #chunxi #ifs #panda #giantpanda #kuanzhaialley #jinli #traveltiktok #travellife #traveling #attractions #chengduchina ♬ A Dream Is What You Make It – Geek Boy
It was a nice day of “free-and-easy” where we got to travel around Chengdu at our own pace and try out some excellent foods at Chen Mapo Tofu. It was also great to check out Raffles City in Chengdu, seeing how Singapore has left a small footprint in Chengdu, China. Checking out the pub scene and enjoying the live music was another great experience as well. All in all, a nice day out! Stay tuned as we check out more of Chengdu on our last day of our 9D8N Chan Brothers travels to Jiuzhaigou, Huang Long and Chengdu!
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